Elections 2014 Meet the candidates: Kevin Bourne

This week we emailed all candidates standing at local elections on 22nd May inviting them to ‘have their say’ in a questionnaire. There are 3 candidates standing in Wednesfield South and 4 in Wednesfield North and we will publish any responses in the order we receive them.

Whilst WV11 does not back any political party, we are keen to see local politicians engaging with the community online as well as offline.

The third candidate to respond was Wednesfield South UKIP candidate Kevin Bourne, here are his responses to our questionnaire…

Name: Kevin Bourne.

Party: UK Independence Party (UKIP).

Ward: Wednesfield South.

Occupation: Self employed: licensed Private Hire Driver.

What made you decide to stand for election?

The wards of Wolverhampton should have the option of voting for candidates that want local people to control local issues, instead of candidates/parties that freely allow the EU to control local issues.

What do you believe are the key issues to be dealt with in your ward?

Obviously I plan to have a say in budgeting the peoples money better than any Labour councillor has ever done; which won’t be hard. It’s not about what I believe are the key issues; it is about dealing with the issues that the people make known are issues. I hear that people keep complaining about anti-social behaviour in the areas of Castlebridge Gardens; Moathouse Estate, and the Castle Pub. Plus I hear of, and see the problem of irresponsible dog owners, and dog faeces. Plus people have also complained about the charges that Wolverhampton’s Labour council, have put on the removal of certain items of rubbish.

How do you feel you will be able to make a difference to your constituents?

I plan not to be a leader of the people, but a voice of the people, and to treat everyone equal, under the method of Libertarianism. As I’ve said above: I plan to be a voice in the council, for the constituents; and to hold the council to account with how the council wants to spend the peoples money. Council tax should be as low as possible. I wonder how many people realize that Wolverhampton Labour run council, are ripping off the council tax payers of Wolverhampton, by raising the council tax by 2%, when the government offered the council a pot of money equivalent of 1% council tax increase, if the council didn’t increase the council tax. Councils should cut highly paid council executives etc. The peoples money should be used for local services, plus local services should be for local people.

If you are elected how do you plan to keep your constituent informed of what you are doing to represent them and how will they get in touch with you when they need to?

Connecting with people, I plan to attend as many public meetings (PACT meetings etc) as possible; plus use Facebook, plus make my mobile phone number known publicly, and meet up with people when asked. Obviously if I’m elected and people want to contact me, then people should/will be able to get my details from council offices.

What local initiatives have you personally been involved in, in the ward you are standing for in the last 12 months?

Assisting people when possible. I’ve never been a councillor before, or even a candidate; plus UKIP have never had a UKIP candidate elected to be a councillor in Wolverhampton; but hopefully the people of Wednesfield South will give me the chance to serve them. Obviously the Labour candidate is going to list things that they have done with their Labour Party councillor friends. Plus the Conservative candidate has been a councillor, therefore I’m sure that they will be able to claim a list. I hope that people will only believe/remember what they have seen to be the truth, or/and know to be fact.

Anything else you would like to add?

Looking back at the first letter of each of my answers, and without being stoical: how many people know who their present councillors are; plus what have they done for you?

About the Author

Steph Clarke I have nearly always lived in Wednesfield, I moved away briefly but missed the sense of community and so swiftly moved back! I honestly believe Wednesfield has more to offer than the residents often give it credit for and wanted to do something to redress the balance of negativity around where we live. Working for a media company using the internet and social media as a marketing tool I had the skills and passion to help set up WV11.co.uk so did!

Awards

WV11 .co.uk is a volunteer run award winning website dedicated to community news and events in and around Wednesfield, Wolverhampton.
In 2011 we were given a 'Pride of Wolverhampton' award by local radio station Signal 107 and in 2012 we were given the 'Community Engagement' award by Talk About Local.